Saturday 14 December 2013

ALL BAR ONE - The "New" Pub

This well known chain always pleases everyone for how trendy their bars look. It definitely tries to dismiss the old pub look in favour of a modern bar with a continental hint.

The feedback was mainly focused on the nice lounge music and the well lit open space with wide and large tables. Waiters serve you at the table for both drinks and dinner, and tend to bear close resemblance to waiters from a French bistrot with white apron and all. The menu is quite extensive and it holds a wide and appealing selection of dishes.

Once food was delivered, most of that "trendy bar" look and feel vanished in thin air as we were all confronted with food that tasted nice but looked un-appetising, especially when served on a white plate twice the size of your portion. Fine for Michelin Star restaurants but not convincing for a Southern Fried Chicken Wrap. The extravagant choice was the Moroccan lamb cutlets, served on a black carbon-like slab, which indeed look original, except the way cous-cous, mint yoghurt and harissa sauce were displayed reminded you of an abstract paint or a 5-year-old's drawing with no order or measure whatsoever.

We still admired the "trendiness" of it all but it did not seem to impress as we rushed out without even trying the dessert. For some it is a nice place to hang out, for some there is nothing so special about it.

Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food        3.17
Hygiene                     4.17
Value for Money      3.17
Speed of Service       4.00
Quality of Service    3.83
Ambience & décor   3.83

All Bar One gets an overall rating of 72.6%

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